


The Face Cards

by EideticPrettyBoySpence



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:21:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25602742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EideticPrettyBoySpence/pseuds/EideticPrettyBoySpence
Summary: This story takes place during 7x23-24Yes I took some of Spencer's proposal from Blaine's proposal on Glee mind your business :P
Relationships: Spencer Reid/Original Female Character(s)





	The Face Cards

My name is Nyssa Johnson, and I am a member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. My boyfriend Dr Spencer Reid and I are expecting our first child, so our boss, Aaron Hotchner, put me back in the bullpen with my best friend Penelope Garcia. One day the team finally gets called in on a bank robbing spree case. The Face Cards have hit seven banks in the past seven months, killing one person at each bank. I had forgotten just how nerve wracking being in the bullpen could be. Not being able to be there with the rest of my family, not knowing if they would all come back at the end of the day. Not knowing if Spencer would come back to me. But this time Hotch wants Garcia and me on scene. It would be easier to hack into the bank that way, if we were right in front of it. The Bureau sends the Mobile Command Center to the bank so we would have everything we needed to see inside the bank and see the robbery crew.

"Are you okay?" JJ asks her boyfriend Will 

"Yeah. It's definitely them. I only saw the King and the Jack, but I figure the Queen's inside, too."

"The media's calling them the Face Cards. Seven bank robberies in seven months. They've killed one person at each robbery."

"M.O.?" Rossi asks.

"Single gunshot wound. Each of the victims has bled out."

"Serial killers with a thirty-day cooling-off period and we're only just hearing about this now?" Emily asks.

"Well, headquarters has always characterized them robbers first and killers second."

"No one kills seven people without serious psychopathic tendencies," Spencer says.

"I disagreed with the original assessment. I was overruled."

"So why are we here now?" Rossi asks.

"Because crisis negotiation is overseas."

"What more do we know about them?" JJ asks.

"They're organized, they're efficient. Each strike lasts about two minutes."

"They gotta be scouting the banks in advance. Why haven't we been able to I.D. them off off surveillance footage?" Derek says as we walk into the MCC.

"They hack the security feed and turn off the cameras. Both during the initial canvas and during the robbery. Until the masks come back on, and then we're allowed to watch," Hotch says as I sit in front of my laptop.

"They're using the hostages as human shields," Rossi says.

"This is the first time they've been interrupted. What went wrong?" JJ asks.

"It's a big bank. It's possible they weren't able to round everybody up before someone triggered an alarm."

"Why haven't they cut the feed now that they've been cornered? Letting us see inside gives up a tactical advantage. They gotta know that," Derek says.

"They don't seem to care," Hotch replies.

"They're overconfident," JJ says. "Arrogant, even."

"The face card masks add to their narcissism," Spencer says. "Their personas are the royalty of poker."

"JJ, Reid and Prentiss, look at past robberies. That's gonna be our victimology. Pull another analyst if you need to. Dave, I want you to handle negotiations. And, Morgan, strategize tactical options with MPD. Chief Strauss," Hotch says.

"The director ordered me to supervise your operation."

"Puts you right in the spotlight," Rossi says.

"Well, you've got gunmen with hostages in the capital. The Hill's concerned."

"We're about to open lines of communication," Hotch says.

"What about a tactical assault?"

"I don't think it's a good idea. There are hostages in front of the doors and windows."

"What's your negotiation strategy?" Strauss asks Rossi.

"The Jack's bleeding out. They'll ask for medical attention."

"The female unsub might have something to say about that," Hotch says. "Look at her body language."

"Mm. She is cold and detached. The King seems genuinely concerned about his partner's welfare. But she doesn't give a damn."

"The men probably know each other. Garcia?"

"Yes. Shuffling my technofabulous deck of databases, sir."

"Who the hell is this?" we hear the Jack's voice.

"My name is David Rossi. I'm with the FBI. To whom am I speaking?"

"All right, I want a doctor sent in, and then I want out of here."

"Well, we certainly can discuss that. Let the hostages go and we'll give you all the medical help you need."

"I can't do that. I need the leverage."

"How about a sign of good faith? Send out the women and children and I'll see what I can do."

"He's trying to negotiate," the Jack's voice gets further from the phone. "Either we get what we want or everyone in this room dies."

"Do that and you get nothing."

"You better send in some help or more people are gonna die," the Jack says as the Queen shoots a hostage, then he hangs up.

"We're sending in a medic," Garcia and I hear Strauss' voice from outside.

"That's just gonna give them another hostage," Hotch says.

"If they stop shooting people, it's worth it."

"If we give in to one demand, we'll have to give in to them all," Rossi argues.

"The Director disagrees."

"At least make it an agent with medical experience," Hotch says. "That way we can take advantage of an opportunity if it comes."

"Fine."

"The brass thinks they'll act rationally, but there's no evidence of that," Rossi says.

"This is personal for the men. The King could have run after the initial gunfight, but he didn't," Hotch answers. "Instead, he pulled the partner inside out of harm's way."

"And stayed with him, while the woman searched the bank, presumably for a way out."

"He's more worried about the partner than he is about her running away. Garcia, Johnson, narrow your search. I think the male unsubs might even be related."

"Roger that," Penelope says.

"You got it, boss," I reply.

"Sir, we found a thing. See, we took height and weight measurements and crossed them with known related offenders who specialize in bank jobs and home burglaries-"

"Show me," Hotch interrupts Penelope.

"Yes. These are brothers Chris and Oliver Stratton. They are petty thieves from Philly, turned bank robbers in Jersey," I add quickly. "They were put in jail for two years after an attempted heist went sour, and they were released two months before the first Face Card robbery, and their measurements are a match."

"Why didn't the NCIC database connect them?" Strauss asks.

"Because the brothers have never used a third partner, and shooting people is not part of their M.O.," Penelope replies. 

"It looks like they weren't very successful criminals," Hotch says.

"Maybe adding a woman to their team improved their game," Straus says.

After a while, Rossi calls the bank again. Chris picks up after a moment, panic evident in his voice. He's worried for Oliver.

"Why hasn't anyone come in yet?"

"We're sending in the medic now, Chris. Tell Oliver help is on the way."

"Hurry."

After a few minutes, Chris shoots the medic while he's trying to draw his weapon. After that, everything moves super quickly.

"Tactical's been deployed, snipers are moving into position," Derek says.

"The Director's ordered a full tactical assault," Strauss replies.

"His last orders cost us an agent."

"SWAT's getting itchy fingers," Will says.

"You remind SWAT that bank robberies are federal jurisdiction. No one fires until they're ordered to," Hotch answers before turning to Strauss. "All right, when the crossfire starts, what's gonna happen to the hostages caught in the middle?"

"That's the wrong call, Erin, and you know it," Rossi adds.

"It's not my call."

"You're here and you're in charge," Hotch replies.

"So you want me to disobey the Director?"

"Yes," Rossi says.

"No, I just want you to buy us a little time," Hotch says. "Don't be quite so efficient."

"Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast."

"All right. Reasoning with them is still our best option."

"That'll be difficult. Chris just lost his brother and murdered someone in retaliation. We're dealing with two killers now," Rossi replies.

Suddenly we realize that we've got a problem- someone else hacked into the security feeds. Penelope and I hurry out of the MCC and find Hotch and Rossi to tell them. I let Penelope start since she noticed it before I noticed it. 

"We have problems, sirs. Outside nefarious sources have hacked into the surveillance feeds."

"We're trying to I.D. them now. At least a couple of them are media outlets," I add quickly.

"Can you block them?" Hotch asks.

"No, not without blocking ourselves, too, sir."

"What if the smaller banks were training runs for the Stratton brothers?" Rossi's voice comes through our earbuds.

"Well, it could be. She took two relatively amateur thugs and turned them into an elite team of efficient bank robbers," Derek replies.

"But why? To turn them into patsies?" Emily asks.

"All right, okay, let's look at it. Up until now they've been highly organized, striking only on deposit days, when the most amount of cash is on hand," JJ speaks up.

"But today's different. It's their first Saturday hit, where families are present, more foot traffic throughout the day," Spencer adds.

"It's a riskier attack," Will says.

"We should consider the media attention, too," Hotch says. "It's the first time they've had an audience."

"That might be why the female unsub is so vain. She wants to look good for the cameras," Emily says.

"She searches the bank, but doesn't actually look for a means of escape," Rossi adds. "She appears to be almost enjoying the situation."

"We know the brothers are in it for the money, what's she in it for?" Hotch asks.

"What?" Chris' voice comes after the phone rings for a moment.

"How do you want to end this, Chris?" Rossi asks.

"I want out of here."

"How do you propose to do that?"

"I want an armored truck and a plane with a clear flight path to Switzerland."

"No, no, no, Chad. We want to go to Chad," the Queen interrupts.

"Yeah. No agents with guns this time. We'll fly ourselves," Chris hangs up a moment later.

"Okay, so what's the significance of Chad?" JJ asks.

"A 2008 coup attempt plunged them into political instability," Spencer replies. "They're currently in the middle of a civil war."

"There's gotta be more to it than that."

"This team is too good to get caught. So why did they?" Rossi speaks up fifteen minutes later.

"911 received a call alerting them to a robbery in progress," Will answers.

"Actually, it was a text. D.C. added messaging after the Virginia Tech students texts went unanswered during the massacre," I say.

"Can you trace it?" Hotch asks.

"Yeah. That message was sent from a cell phone that is currently inside the bank. And it is registered to a Larry Phillips Jr."

"Why does that name sound familiar?" Will asks.

"That's the name of one of the gunmen from the '97 North Hollywood bank shootout in California," Rossi says.

"So this is an homage?" Derek asks.

"Guys, that text was sent thirty seconds before they blacked out the security feeds for entry," Garcia interrupts.

"How is that possible?" Strauss asks.

"It didn't come from a hostage," Derek says. "It came from one of the robbers."

"She wanted us here," Hotch says.

"It's more than the media outlets, sir. Anonymous international entities are hacking the feeds as well," I tell Hotch as he walks in the MCC.

"You were saying?" Strauss says as she ignores a call.

"I was tagging I.P addresses and someone hacked the surveillance cameras at seven A.M. this morning," Garcia says.

"Was that how they shut down the cameras for entry?" Rossi asks.

"So, sir. This is an entirely different hack, one that's still receiving."

"Somebody else is watching, who?"

"Whoever it is she's dressing up for," Hotch says.

"I thought that was for the media," Strauss asks.

"The media didn't have eyes inside before today."

"But she dresses up every time," Garcia says.

"Because someone is always watching," Rossi says.

"Her real partner, a fourth unsub," Hotch replies.

"I doubt she was forthcoming about this other partner to Chris."

"I think it's time we bring Chris up to speed."

"You know my favorite card in poker, Chris?" Rossi asks after he picks up.

"What's that?"

"The wild card."

"I don't believe in wild cards. They dumb down the game."

"Well, I couldn't agree with you more, but, uh, in this case, you're the one that's dumb."

"This your new negotiation tactic, insulting me?"

"Oh, it's not a tactic. It's a fact. Didn't you wonder why you got caught, what went wrong when you did everything right? We got a message from someone in the bank before you started shooting."

"Impossible."

"Now, I know it wasn't you, and I'm hoping it wasn't your brother, so, who does that leave?"

"You're lying."

"Ask her."

"Did you call the police?"

"Is that what they're telling you?"

"That's not an answer."

"Of course not. What do you think? They're trying to turn us against one another."

"Why would you even do that? Olly's dead 'cause of that."

"I wouldn't. I'm trapped here, too."

"Are you lying to me?"

"We've come too far for you to start doubting me now. Lost too much. Hey... don't let them tear us apart right as we're about to win. If you do that, Olly's death won't mean anything. Enough I'm done talking to you. I want to talk to someone who won't jerk me around face to face. "No more feds," the woman says. 

"I want to talk to the cop who shot my brother. Where's that cop, huh? I ain't got all day."

"What you're asking is difficult," Rossi says.

"Well, I'll make it easy. Send in the cop. I'll let a couple hostages go. A sign of good faith. Isn't that what you said?" "Releasing the hostages is a great first step in resolving this conflict, but we can't send someone else in to be killed." "This ain't a friggin' debate." "Hello?" "Tell him your name." "It's... it's Shawn Harper," the man says right before Chris shoots him. "Ucch. You just killed Shawn Harper. Not me, you. I'm gonna shoot another hostage every sixty seconds until you send in the cop. Every sixty seconds. Who's next? Huh? Who's the lucky one? Nah. Nah. Nah. Nah. Nah. You! Pick it up. Come on! What's your name?" "No, please." "Tell him your name!" "Annie. It's Annie." "You hang in there, Annie," Rossi tells her. "Help is on the way." "You got about thirty seconds, Annie. I hope Agent Rossi doesn't make me shoot you, too. You. Come over here." "Just let the women and children go. They don't need to see this." "Pretty soon they'll be doing a lot more than seeing. Annie! You just got yourself a reprieve! Get in line over there." "My name is Matthew Downs." Just then we hear JJ screaming Will's name, and moments later we see him on screen. He has his hands raised and is looking at Chris. Then a woman and two children run out of the bank. Then Chris shoots Will twice, point blank in the chest. I have to cover my mouth with both hands so I don't scream. I don't want JJ to know who just got shot. But then everyone piles in the MCC and I realize she already knows. She probably instinctively knew as soon as she heard the gunshot. Everyone is quiet until she eventually speaks up. "Did you see where he was shot? Is he alive or dead, Garcia?" "I don't know." "He was wearing a vest," Emily says. "He might be okay." "Might be." "They're not answering," Rossi comes into the trailer. "All right, we need to get inside." "JJ, it's too risky," Derek says. "We don't have eyes in there anymore." "Aaron..." she looks at our boss. "Let's go in." After that it doesn't take long for Derek and JJ to get ready to go in. I choke out a sob as my boyfriend's voice comes over comms. "How's JJ?" "It's bad, babe." "I should be there. We've learned everything we can from here." "No, you can help more by helping us. I don't want to have to worry about you. Not like JJ is worrying right now." "There's a lot to go over and your brain works faster than ours," Penelope adds. "Seeing what's going on outside doesn't help us inside. Kevin, can you possibly pull up each of the surveillance feeds prior to Will being shot?" "Sure. What are we looking for?" "The female unsub disappeared once before. If she wasn't looking for an escape, what was she doing?"

"We've got movement," a SWAT team member's voice comes over comms.

"Somebody's coming out, be ready," Derek answers. "It's hostages."

"Copy. Standing by for entry."

"We're going in."

"Garcia, get them out of there!" Spencer's voice comes out terrified.

"Abort! Abort!" Rossi yells into comms.

Just as he says that we hear an explosion from outside. I instinctively know it's the bank, even before I see it. Even as I'm worried about Hotch, Derek, JJ and Emily, I'm so glad Spencer is safe back at the BAU. If he was on scene he would have been with the team. I push past Rossi and run out of the MCC. My only thought was getting to Derek, I didn't think about the danger to me. All I knew was that my best friend could be hurt or injured and I had to help him. Someone grabs my arm and I struggle for a minute, until I see Derek running into the bank after JJ. I let out a sigh of relief and sag into Rossi's arms. They were okay, that's all that matters right now. 

I'm standing next to Rossi, who has his arm around me, when Strauss comes up. She's furious for some reason, and I have to force myself not to start a fight with her. We still don't know where Will is or if he's okay, and that's the priority right now.

"What is going on here? You didn't profile this as a suicide mission," the blonde woman says.

"Because it wasn't," Rossi replies. "They'd never kill themselves."

"What the hell do you call that, then?" Straus gestures to the bank.

"They didn't improvise a way out. They've had an exit strategy in place. You don't learn explosives overnight."

Rossi walks away from Strauss towards Hotch, and I follow along behind him. Our unit chief is talking to SWAT and I stand by to listen. He's talking about the unsubs and the explosion, telling them to look at all the fragments. If we can figure out who made it, we can figure out who the mystery third unsub is. Then we can hopefully figure out where the bank robbers are taking Will from there.

"We're looking for signatures on the bombs. I need every fragment of every device you can find, no matter how small or destroyed it looks. I also need eyes on every angle in, out, and around the bank. You have photos of the suspects. We're gonna continue to cross-check those against international connections. Do you have a positive I.D. on the woman yet?" Hotch turns to Garcia and me as he continues.

"No. Not yet," Penelope answers.

"We need more agents," Hotch tells Strauss.

"Where's Homeland Security?"

"They just got here. Sir, I've seen Morgan and JJ, but I haven't seen Emily," I answer.

As I stand by while the rest of the team talks to the media, I sag against a nearby car in exhaustion. The small adrenaline high I had from worrying about the team had faded. Now all I needed was to sit in the MCC and work on what I could from there. After a few minutes I heard the slam of a car door and my boyfriend's voice. I spun around to see him running toward me, and I threw my hands around his neck as he reached me. He stroked my hair softly and kissed the top of my head. I could feel him trembling, and it broke my heart.

"Hey, Spence, I'm okay. I wasn't anywhere near the blast. I'm fine, and the baby's fine, alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, alright, little girl. I was so scared, I thought you might be hurt."

"No I'm not hurt, babe, surprisingly all anyone has are minor injuries. But you shouldn't be here, it's not safe for you to be here."

"So happy you're alright," I hear Kevin talking to Penelope.

"What are you doing here? It isn't safe," she answers.

"I didn't want you to be alone."

"I'm not. You know, they separate the President and the Vice President at times like this."

"What... are you comparing us to POTUS?" Kevin asks, making me chuckle.

"I'm saying that you should be at Quantico running point."

"Well, I'm here right now. What can I do?"

"Okay. I need to analyze every frame of this video."

Penelope and Kevin head into the MCC to analyze the security footage. I follow Spencer over to Hotch, who is looking at blueprints of the bank that show every level. Including the underground vault and the tunnels. Spencer has a firm grip on my hand as we both study the blueprint, and I appreciate the silent show of support. I feel terrible that he was worried about me, knowing I would feel the same way if the situation was reversed. When Hotch makes me stay behind with Garcia, it kills me to watch Spencer walk out, knowing there's always a chance that he won't walk back in again. There's always the chance that he could get hurt on a case, or even killed.

"Morgan and JJ said that the blast created a hole between the underground vault and these tunnels," Hotch says.

"You know, most of these older banks are made from granite or limestone for longevity," Spencer replies.

"So she knew to use a combination of C-4 and Semtex to open her escape route," I add.

"The tunnels let out at multiple points running west. She could still be underground."

"I don't know. This is what she does. She probably waited 'til the last minute to exit. She wants to see all this chaos," Hotch answers.

"We need to find the tunnel exit closest to the bank."

"Looks like it's two blocks here, just outside the perimeter."

Spencer and I head into the MCC just as Spencer's phone rings. He listens for a while, and I can hear Derek's voice. Rossi and Hotch come in the MCC behind us as he hangs up. We walk over to Penelope and Kevin, and he helps me sit in the chair next to the blonde. He cups my cheek in his hand as he talks to her, and I cover his hand with mine as I listen to them.

"JJ and Morgan said the unsubs were in an alley northwest of the perimeter."

"Yeah, this footage confirms it. Okay, I can see two figures in the car. Please tell me one of them is Will."

"See how she's turned? It's like she's keeping an eye on someone in the back," Hotch says.

"Does that mean Will's in the car?"

"I think there's somebody back there?"

"What's the license plate?" Spencer asks.

"That's weird. They're government tags," Penelope zooms in.

"Federal or District?"

"Federal."

"Well, they're either stolen or they're forged."

"Who the hell are these people?" I say softly.

"They've set up roadblocks in the district from 66 to Dulles," Strauss comes into the trailer.

"Wait, so we're looking for a black SUV with it's sirens on," Kevin says. "That's gonna stand out."

"Will's with them. I found his wallet," JJ says as she walks in with Derek.

"It benefits them to keep Will alive," Hotch answers.

"They must have a safe house set up," Derek says as he squeezes my shoulder.

"Whoever their outside man is, that's where they're heading now," Emily adds.

"But where? What's their end game?" JJ asks.

"There's no logical reason," Rossi replies. "They want to create panic."

"She's struck all over the world, which says she might not be American, but her ideology certainly speaks to Washington. Whatever point she and her partner are making, it's important that D.C.'s the setting," Spencer says.

"The brothers were from Philadelphia. The other partner might be homegrown as well," Emily replies.

"Homeland's sending over a list of possibilities," Strauss says.

"They're not on anyone's list," Hotch answers.

"Then how do we find them?"

"We find the common denominators between all fourteen robberies, and we go from there."

"So she's our only answer?"

"For now."

"I'll call Easter at INTERPOL again. Now that there's been an explosion, he might have some ideas," Emily says.

"All right. Yeah, I got it. That was the lab. Semtex and C-4, like we thought," Derek says as he hangs up his phone. "Red, blue and yellow wires in each. Old cell phone used as a detonator."

"How old is the phone?"

"Ten years."

"That's specific and rare."

"Ridiculously."

"It was last seen in a number of bombings in Chad."

"For a signature that specific, they must have been there to learn it."

"Did Easter have any insight?" Hotch asks.

"A woman they called Lady X stole a sedan from Scotland Yard eight years ago. The investigation concluded she was a trained assassin. She disappeared."

"So Lady X and Queen of Diamonds is the same person?" I ask.

"It sounds like it."

"Garcia, Johnson, look at assassination attempts around the civil unrest in Chad," Hotch says.

"If she was a hired gun, she was likely taking orders from someone," Spencer adds.

"Maybe she's still working for the same guy now, and he's still pulling the strings," JJ say.

"Or maybe she's found her equal," Hotch says.

"Their obsession with killing and domination has culminated in what we've seen today," Emily says.

"Getting off on the disaster they've created," Spencer says. "Classic symphorophiliacs."

"Well then this isn't over," Derek says.

"Far from it," Rossi adds.

"No. Now that they've gotten away with this, where are they gonna strike next?" Hotch asks.

The team leaves the MCC while Penelope, Kevin and I go through security camera footage and Hotch comes back a while later.

"Kevin, what have you got?"

"Just going through..."

"They did that on purpose, right?" Penelope interrupts. "I mean, we saw everything until they had Will."

"Well, they made a mistake. Leaving the cameras on gave us much more information than they realized," Hotch says. "What time did the 911 call come in?"

9:23."

"The bank opened at 9:00. Let's go back to the beginning. I need you all on this."

"Yes, sir."

"The explosion was a distraction so they could escape. Watch," our boss says after we watch the footage a few times.

"Allow me to fast-forward. All right. Here's where Chris started shooting hostages. The fella next to him didn't even flinch. Doesn't even break a sweat," Kevin says, voicing what I had just realized. "I mean, I know he's ex-military, but still..."

"His name is Matthew Downs. That's what he told Rossi, and he wasn't lying," I say as I finish running facial rec. "History shows dishonorable discharge from USMC in '04."

"Okay, do me a favor, keep going... to where Will walks in," Emily says. "Okay, now watch him. And then... look at her. Her partner was in there the whole time. Just not in the way that we thought. They shot the whole thing like a home movie."

"He could have been killed," Spencer says.

"No, she wouldn't let that happen," Derek answers.

"What the hell are they doing?" Kevin asks.

"It's all part of their plan."

"They've created scenarios that are practically impossible to survive," Spencer says. "When they make it, it's the ultimate high."

"Like an adrenaline junkie," Kevin says.

"Nobody can find Matthew Downs," Strauss walks back in. "ERT said that he helped them, then disappeared."

"Well, of course Will thought Matthew was a hostage. Why wouldn't he?" Emily says. "There's a good chance Will tried to help him out. He told him when to go for the doors or offered to be a hostage to save the others."

"I'm sure he did," Rossi's voice comes over comms.

"Well, there's a flip side to this. This guy could have gotten into Will's head," Derek says. "Is there anything you want to tell your family in case you don't make it?"

"You think Will told him about JJ and Henry?"

"Unknowingly," Hotch says.

"What's wrong?" Rossi asks JJ.

"Will's license is gone. They know where we live."

While Penelope, Kevin and I keep digging through the security cam footage, Spencer, Derek and Emily go inside the bank. They come back about ten minutes later, and Spencer rests his hand on my shoulder as they talk about something Emily realized.

"Their timeline suggests they were both destructive before they met," Emily says.

"So we're talking about ex-military turning on their country," Strauss says.

"It's rare, but soldiers become disenfranchised no matter what the nationality. And if he met someone like-minded at that time, there'd be no stopping them."

"So you're thinking they met during the civil unrest in Chad in '08," Hotch says.

"Yeah, and one or both of them are pilots," Spencer says. 

"So if Garcia concentrates on that region, specifically weapons running in and out of Libya, there's a good chance we'll find their paths crossed."

"Okay, multiple entries into Libya for a private pilot named Matthew Downs in '08 but I don't have her name," Penelope says.

"Well, because she had aliases. It's the only way to stay a ghost. Here's the thing- they are a couple. Regardless of what we believe of them, they will celebrate themselves and their connection. Is there anything that happened on this date in Chad?"

"Oh, you are good, Emily Prentiss," I say as I type. "But this news is not. Yes, there were multiple explosions on this date in '08."

"Where were the most casualties?" Hotch asks.

"In a church- no, no, a train."

"Semtex and C-4?" Derek asks.

"Yep."

"Are trains still arriving at Union Station?" Hotch asks.

"Yes, but only the authorities are allowed in," Strauss replies.

"That's why they needed Will," Emily says. 

After that things go relatively fast. JJ and Rossi save Henry while Emily, Hotch and Derek rescue Will. When we get back to the BAU, I start to head to the batcave to do my paperwork. But Spencer tugs on my hand, making me fall into his lap with a laugh. I turn my head to kiss him softly, and his hand rests on my stomach as we do our paperwork. Penelope comes into the bullpen and he turns to her.

"The convention's still happening tomorrow, if you wanna go. Little girl and I were thinking about going."

"That whole city-on-the-brink-of-destruction thing kind of took the wind out of my sails, you know?"

"That'll do it every time," Emily says.

"We didn't finish the inspection," Derek says.

"No need."

"What happened?" Spencer asks.

"There is a horizontal crack in the foundation. It just weakens the entire base that the house is sitting on."

"Yeah. That does not sound good," Penelope says.

"So our unsub is Izzy Rogers. She'll be charged with multiple counts domestically, and our international counterparts will have their turn with her. She will never see the light of day. I just thought you'd like to know that. Agent Morgan, a word?" Strauss comes over to us.

"Hang on, I'll check. Erin, don't go anywhere," Hotch says as he walks over. "Dave wants to know if everyone is free tomorrow night?"

"Well, it depends on if he's buying. Then I'm definitely in," Derek says.

"Yeah, me too," Emily agrees. Spencer, Penelope and I nod.

"You hear that? We're in."

The next afternoon I dig through my closet, deciding on a simple purple dress. Rossi had texted all of us last night that we were throwing JJ and Will a surprise wedding at his mansion. When I had showered and dressed, Spencer was looking at a suit I knew he hadn't worn in years. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist and he laughed softly. "I'm going to look ridiculous in this, little girl. Promise you won't laugh, okay?" "I would never laugh at you, you know that Spence. Besides, you'll look handsome, I know it." "You look beautiful, Nyssa. I mean, wow- you're absolutely- wow," Spencer pulls out of my arms and turns around. "Thank you, Spencer," I blush softly. "Now go, we have to be there soon." Spencer showers and dresses, and then we climb in his Prius. We drive to Rossi's house and Spencer climbs out, jogging around to open my door before I can. I smile as he holds an arm out and let him help me out of the car. I keep my hand wrapped around his bicep as we walk up to the door and Spencer rings the doorbell. Penelope answers the door and we follow her over to Derek and Emily. "You look amazing, Penelope. Derek Morgan eat your heart out," I laugh as the man in question wraps me in a hug. "And you don't look too bad yourself, Derek." "What?" Penelope asks. "Uh- uh- I'll tell you later," Emily says. "I don't like the sound of that," I say with a raised eyebrow. "It's JJ's night, I don't want to..." "All right, if you are telling me that there is something bad happening right now to balance out the goodness that is tonight, I will have none of it because I don't believe in that. Although it's totally one of the truths of life, isn't it? The bitter and the sweet mixed up together in a cosmic soup that we've all signed up for." "Penelope. Penelope," Derek tries to interrupt. "Breathe. Breathe." "I think Kevin's here tonight. It would make sense that he would come tonight, don't- he's here," Penelope ignores him, turning as Kevin walks in. "He's here, and he's with her, so I'm gonna go somewhere which is not- go somewhere that is not here." "Hi, Penelope," Beth says as she and Hotch walk in. "Hello, hello, hi." "Hello," Hotch says. "Hi," Penelope brushes past him. "Hello, Emily," Beth says. "Hello, it's nice to see you again." "Oh, it's nice to see you, too. Hey, Derek." "Hey, Beth. What's up, Hotch? Oh, look out. Look who it is," Derek kneels down to Jack's level. "Little man Jack. Give me some. Hey, guess what? They got a really cool fountain right over there. You wanna check it out with me?" "Sure," Jack says. "I wanna see, too," Beth adds. "All right, come on. Go. Go, go, go, go." I take Spencer's hand and follow Derek, Beth and Jack. I don't want to eavesdrop on Hotch and Emily's conversation. Whatever it is that's going on with her, she'll tell us when she's ready to. And she's obviously not right now, and that's okay. We walk out to the backyard, greeting the team, some friends of Will's and JJ's mom. There's tables scattered around the lawn, thousands of fairy lights, and blue petals forming an aisle toward a trellis with more fairy lights strung from it. Then JJ and Will show up with Henry, and Rossi walks over to them. "Wow," JJ says. "Hey," Rossi says. "Someone knows how to throw a party. You don't mess around." "What can I tell you? I'm the host with the most." "No kidding." "Oh, look who's here?" Rossi says as JJ's mom walks over. "Mom. Okay, what's- what's going on?" "Well, we couldn't get married without your mama," Will says. "I might have overheard a little proposal yesterday," Rossi says. "And I couldn't wait 'til Monday." "Okay, so this is why you guys are so dressed up, huh?" JJ says. "Yes. And you will be, too," JJ's mom says. "I brought something borrowed." "Mom, is that your dress?" "It is. Let's go see if it still fits." "Okay." "So, nervous?" Rossi asks Will. "Only if she doesn't come back down." "As if, she's been talking about this almost since your first date," I laugh. While we wait for JJ to come back, I follow Henry as he runs toward his godfather. Their relationship means so much to Spencer, and it was seeing him hold Henry for the first time that made me sure I wanted to have kids with him someday. I rest one hand on my stomach as I watch Spencer show Henry some magic tricks. Henry watches him with adoration written on his face, and I smile knowing how much he loves his godfather, and that the feeling is more than mutual. I feel tears of joy prick the corners of my eyes as I watch the love of my life playing with his godson. Knowing that this baby is going to be so loved, not just by us, but by our entire family. After a while, we go stand up by Will, and Henry runs over to his dad. Then JJ and her mom walk out of the house and we make room for them to walk through. It's a short and sweet ceremony, nothing too fancy, but just perfect for the couple. Then everyone helps get the tables in groups. Well, at least I want to help, but Spencer won't hear of it. So I sit next to him when they're done, and caterers bring out a meal that I'm sure Rossi helped prepare. After everyone gets champagne and I get a glass of water, Rossi stands to make a toast.

"They say that good things happen to good people. Today is one of those days, and these are two of those people. We love you."

Everyone clinks glasses with the people around them. Spencer and I link arms and take a sip from our glasses. After we finish eating a wooden dance floor gets laid out. Will and JJ have their first dance, and then Spencer stands up and offers me his hand. The singer Rossi hired starts singing 'As it Seems' by Lily Kershaw as he leads me out to the dance floor. He pulls me into his arms and I rest my head on his chest as we dance. He presses his lips to the top of my head and whispers softly in my ear.

"I love you, little girl. You know that, right?"

"Of course I know that, Spencer. I love you too, more than anything."

After the song is over the singer goes into another slow song. I feel a tap on my shoulder and then hear Emily's voice.

"You mind if I cut in?"

"No of course not, go ahead," I pull away.

"I love you, Nyssa," Spencer pulls me back for a soft kiss. "I'll come find you later."

"Could I have this dance? That is if Pretty Boy doesn't mind."

I laugh and turn to see my best friend holding out his hand. He looks handsome in a dark blue suit, but it's weird seeing Derek dressed that way anyway. I'm not used to seeing him in anything but jeans and a tshirt. I take his hand with a smile as he pulls me closer.

"No I'm sure he won't mind. I would love to have this dance, Derek."

"How are you feeling, kiddo? Everything good with you and the baby?"

"Yeah everything's great, thanks. I just had my twenty-one week ultrasound. We haven't decided when we'll have the gender reveal party yet, we kind of got beat out by the wedding. So possibly sometime next week we'll have everyone over. And before you ask, no, I won't tell you what we're having. You're just gonna have to wait like everyone else, best friend or not. I haven't even told Penny."

While I'm dancing with Hotch, who worries over me like a father does, I hear someone clear their throat into the mic. Then I hear my boyfriend's voice and wonder what he's doing. But I don't pay too close attention until I hear him say my name.

"Nyssa, can you come up here for a minute? I've got something important to ask you."

"What are you doing Spence? You're being weird."

"You'll find out in a second, I just have something to say. I couldn't think of a better place to do it than surrounded by our family. So just bear with me for a minute alright? It will be worth it, I promise." Spencer clears his throat again nervously and pulls a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket. "I know I have an eidetic memory, but this is too important to mess up. I wrote it down so I didn't forget anything I wanted to say. So can I have everyone's attention, please?"

Spencer waited for everyone to quiet down before he speaks again. 

"I still remember the first day I saw you at that seminar Dave and I taught. I didn't want to go because I'm always so awkward when I have to teach at one of those things. But looking back I'm really glad I did. You were wearing a cheetah print dress, a leather jacket and pink Doc Martens. I wanted to talk to you so badly, but by the time I got up the nerve, you were already gone. We've been through a lot since that day- from becoming friends to spending all our free time together. I realized I loved you when Tobias Hankle kidnapped me, as weird as that is. But the only thing that kept me sane for those three days was the thought that you were looking for me."

"That was the worst moment of my life. Not knowing if I would ever see you alive again. And then watching Hankle pointing a gun at you, thinking I was about to watch you get shot. If you hadn't killed him, I probably would have."

"I know you would have. But let me finish, please. Our jobs are dangerous, but I know you'll always have my back. Just as much as anyone else on the team does, if not more so. But now let me tell you the reasons I fell in love with you. I fell in love with you because you love Dr Who and Star Trek as much as I love them. You're the only person I've ever met who can give me a run for my money when it comes to my trivia drinking games. I appreciate that you don't get annoyed with my info dumps, and you love the statistics as much as I love them. I love how much you love learning new things, and I love teaching you. You're the first person I want to look at when I wake up in the morning, and the only person I want to kiss goodnight. The idea of soulmates seemed ridiculous to me until I met you. But then it was like 'oh, there you are, I've been looking for you forever.'"

"You always get so excited when you info dump. It's the cutest fucking thing."

"I'm not finished, little girl, give me one minute. Your first day at the BAU, I didn't even hesitate to shake your hand when you offered it. For those of you who don't know me, I'm not in the habit of shaking hands, especially with people I've just met. But I think my soul knew something that my body and mind didn't know yet. It knew that our hands were meant to hold each others, fiercely and forever, which is why it's never really felt like I was getting to know you, it's always felt like I was remembering you from something. As if in every lifetime you and I have lived, we've chosen to find each other and fall in love all over again, over and over for all eternity. And I just feel so lucky that I found you so soon in this lifetime because all I want to do, all I've ever wanted to do, is spend my life loving you. So, Nyssa Johnson, my best friend, my one true love, will you marry me?"

As he finishes his speech, Spencer gets down on one knee. He pulls a box out of his inner jacket pocket and opens it. Inside is a ring that's absolutely perfect, and completely Spencer. It's obviously custom made, and it had to have cost a lot. It's blue metal with rectangle diamonds on the sides. The stone in the middle is also a diamond, but it has four black diamonds around it. If someone didn't know about Dr Who they wouldn't get it, but it's the TARDIS. I gasp softly and my hand covers my mouth as tears spring to my eyes. I can't answer for a minute because my voice is choked with tears. But after a moment I clear my throat and nod.

"Yes! Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Of course I'll marry you, Spencer."

I hold out my hand which is trembling lightly, and Spencer takes it and slips the ring on my finger. Then he stands up and cups my face in his hands, kissing me slowly while our family cheers behind me. After a kiss that was much too short, he finally pulls away and wipes my tears with his thumb. His eyes are shining with tears but his haven't fallen. He gazes at me with so much love it takes my breath away.

"Jayje is going to kill you for stealing her thunder on her wedding day," I laugh softly.

"No she won't I told her I was going to propose when we were dancing earlier."

"I love you more than anything in the world," I hold up my hand with the ring. "Look, we're engaged, can you believe it?"

"I love you with my entire soul, little girl, I can't wait to marry you. I want you to be mine forever."

"I've been yours for a long time. But I know what you mean."

Penelope is the first person to swarm me with a hug. Then I hug everyone else until I get to JJ. She wraps me in a hug with a laugh.

"Can you believe it? I'm married and Spencer finally proposed," she murmurs softly.

"Thank you for letting me share this day with you. You didn't have to you know, you could have said no."

"That's what Spencer said, and I told him it was ridiculous. It's not like I've had this day planned for months. But Spencer's been talking about proposing for ages. I knew he would want us all to be there, so I figured why not?"

We stay at Rossi's house for a few more hours just talking and laughing. When we finally leave we drive home and Spencer scoops me up at the threshold, making me squeal in surprise and giggle. I wrap my arms around his neck and his lips find mine.

"Woah, Spence! You're supposed to do this after the wedding!"

"I know but I couldn't resist, you look like you're dead on your feet. So let's get you to bed, shall we, little girl?"

He carries me inside and doesn't put me down until we're in our bedroom. He helps me with the zipper on my dress and I step out of it and unhook my bra as I kick off my heels. I walk into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wipe off my makeup, pulling on an old tshirt of Spencer's as I go. Then I walk back into the bedroom to see Spencer climb into bed, and climb in next to him. I scoot down in the bed so I'm laying down and he pulls me against him, kissing the top of my head softly. I sigh in contentment as I lay my head on his chest.

"Goodnight, Spencer Reid."

"Goodnight, Mrs, Reid," he replies.

His comment makes me smile, and I fall asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. I always sleep so well knowing I'm safe in his arms.


End file.
